Monday, October 28, 2013

Monday, October 28, 2013

October 28: Lecture Topics: Chapter 12: Bacterial Classification, Structure and Replication,
Chapter 13: Bacterial Metabolism and Genetics

Reading Assignments from:

Medical Microbiology, 7th edition
Patrick R. Murray, Ken S. Rosenthal, Michael A. Pfaller
Elsevier Saunders, Philadelphia, PA


Homework Assignment: (based upon the reading assignment)
To assist your understanding of the assigned readings, please answer the following questions in the space below:

1. Compare the size of various bacteria to that of plant and animal cells.


2. List three differences between eukaryotes and prokaryotes. Figure 12-1 and Table 12-1 each provide a good summary of this (p. 110).

3. Describe the various shapes which bacteria can exhibit.

4. Describe the Gram stain process. What is this stain used for? Figure 12-3 provides a good summary of this (p.111). Why is the Gram stain ineffective in staining mycobacteria or mycoplasma?

5. What is serotyping?

6. How is the polymerase chain reaction helpful in classifying bacteria?

7. What are some of the major structural differences between Gram negative and Gram positive bacteria? Figure 12-4 on p.111 provides a good illustration of this. See also Table 12-4 (p. 113).

8. What are the functions of the various bacterial membrane structures? (See Table 12-2, p.112).

9. Describe the general structure of the peptidoglycan component of the bacterial cell wall (see Figure 12-5, p. 114).

10. What purpose do external structures such as fimbriae and flagella serve?

11. Summarize the steps involved in peptidoglycan synthesis. These links may also help:

http://faculty.ccbcmd.edu/courses/bio141/lecguide/unit1/prostruct/ppg_synth/ppgsynth_fl.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SicrDfLgqB0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBdYnRhdWcQ (first 2.5 minutes)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9U_JDMgB7M (minutes 5-14)

12. Relating to cell wall synthesis in bacteria, what is the role of transpeptidases and D-carboxypeptidases? What are penicillin binding proteins?

13. Describe the processes of bacterial cell division and spore formation (see Figure 12-11, p. 120). What is the role of dipicolinic acid in the spore?

14. What are the minimal requirements for bacterial growth? Describe how bacteria can vary in terms of their oxygen requirements.

15. Describe the three major pathways used by bacteria for the metabolism of glucose.

16. Many bacteria are identified on the basis of their fermentive end products. Explain. Hint: See Figure 13-3 on p. 124.

17. Describe the processes of transcription and translation in bacteria.

18. List and describe various types of DNA mutations in bacteria and the consequences of each.

19. List and describe mechanisms of gene exchange in prokaryotic cells (Hint: see figure 13-15, on p.134).

20. What is bacterial conjugation, the pilus and the F plasmid?

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